Psychedelic Research Links February 2023

This is all the other psychedelic research that came in February 2023. These papers don’t (yet) have their own page in our database.

You can find all interesting papers in our Papers Database.

Related Papers

In Rodents

• Persistent binding at dopamine transporters determines sustained psychostimulant effects (in mice, “We show that the S-enantiomers of pyrovalerone and its analogs, αPVP, and MDPV, display slow in vitro kinetics at DAT and long-lasting psychostimulant effects, which differs from the fast in vitro kinetics and short-lasting effects of drugs like cocaine.“)
• Toxicity of the 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and Its Enantiomers to Daphnia magna after Isolation by Semipreparative Chromatography (in a much tinier animal – Daphnia magna – “…sub-chronic exposure to MDMA racemate and its enantiomers can interfere with morphophysiological and swimming behaviour of D. magna. In general, the (R)-enantiomer demonstrated less toxicity than the (S)-enantiomer.“)
• Effects of Ketanserin, M100907 and Olanzapine on hallucinogenic like action induced by 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (in mice, ketanserin for DOM “In locomotion, M100907(0.005 mg/kg) whenever in preventive or therapeutic administration, reduced the increase of movement distance induced by DOM. Although ketanserin (0.4 mg/kg) in the preventive administration also decreased the movement distance induced by DOM, it was alone administrated to influence the locomotor activity. Through HTR and locomotion, we compared the efficacy and latent side effects of ketanserin, M100907 and olanzapine against hallucinogenic like action induced by DOM. “)
• Rearing behaviour in the mouse behavioural pattern monitor distinguishes the effects of psychedelics from those of lisuride and TBG (in mice, “The results of these experiments provide strong evidence that DOM-elicited increases in rearing are due to mediation by the 5-HT_2A receptor. Finally, discriminant analysis was able to distinguish all four psychedelics from lisuride and TBG based on behavioural performance alone. Thus, increased rearing in mice could provide additional evidence of behavioural differences between hallucinogenic and nonhallucinogenic 5-HT_2A agonists.“)
• Cardiovascular effects of bufotenin on human 5-HT4 serotonin receptors in cardiac preparations of transgenic mice and in human atrial preparations (in mice & cells, “we showed that bufotenin can increase the force of contraction via stimulation of human 5-HT4 receptors transgenic mouse cardiac preparations but notably also in human atrial preparations.”)
• Developmental Neurotoxicity Screen of Psychedelics and Other Drugs of Abuse in Larval Zebrafish (Danio rerio) (in young (larval) zebrafish, “We found that the psychedelic tryptamines and ketamine were less neurotoxic to larval zebrafish than LSD and psychostimulants.“)
• Aromatic Bromination Abolishes Deficits in Visuospatial Learning Induced by MDMA (“Ecstasy”) in Rats While Preserving the Ability to Increase LTP in the Prefrontal Cortex (in rats, “Taken together, these data are consistent with the notion that the modulatory effects induced by the aromatic bromination of the MDMA template, which abolishes typical entactogenic-like responses, might be extended to those effects affecting higher cognitive functions, such as visuospatial learning. This effect seems not to be associated with the increase of LTP in the prefrontal cortex.“)
• Alleviation of Cocaine Withdrawal and Pertinent Interactions between Salvinorin-Based Antagonists and Kappa Opioid Receptor (in mice. “Our results support the study of selective, short-acting KOR antagonists for the treatment of psychostimulant withdrawal and the associated negative mood states that contribute to relapse.“)
• Acute psilocybin enhances cognitive flexibility in rats (in rats, “we find that acute psilocybin robustly improves cognitive flexibility in male and female rats using a task where animals switched between previously learned strategies in response to uncued changes in the environment. Psilocybin did not influence Pavlovian reversal learning, suggesting that its cognitive effects are selective to enhanced switching between previously learned behavioral strategies.“)
• UNRAVELing the synergistic effects of psilocybin and environment on brain-wide immediate early gene expression in mice (in mice, “Psilocybin increased c-Fos expression in the neocortex, caudoputamen, central amygdala, and parasubthalamic nucleus and decreased c-Fos in the hypothalamus, cortical amygdala, striatum, and pallidum. Main effects of context and psilocybin-treatment were robust, widespread, and spatially distinct, whereas interactions were surprisingly sparse.“)
• Basic metabolic and vascular effects of ketamine and its interaction with fentanyl (in rats, “Therefore, in contrast to fentanyl, ketamine increases brain oxygenation but potentiates brain hypoxia induced by fentanyl.“)
• Chronic oral ketamine prevents anhedonia and alters neuronal activation in the lateral habenula and nucleus accumbens in rats under chronic unpredictable mild stress (in rats, “Ketamine did not produce a differential effect in the OFT, EPM and MWM. These results show that chronic oral ketamine at low doses prevents anhedonia without impairing spatial reference memory. The observed neuronal activation changes in the LHb and NAcSh may be involved in the preventive effects of ketamine on anhedonia.“)

Chemistry

• An overview of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in northeast Brazil: NMR-based identification and analysis of ecstasy tablets by GC-MS (drug identification)
• Identification of LSD analogs, 1cP-AL-LAD, 1cP-MIPLA, 1V-LSD and LSZ in sheet products (drug identification)
• Quantitative Analysis of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) and 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD in Urine by Automated Extraction and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (drug identification)
• Concentrations of LSD, 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD, and iso-LSD in hair segments of 18 drug abusers (drug identification in hair)
• Natural or artificial: An example of topographic spatial distribution analysis of mescaline in cactus plants by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging
• Characterization of the Binding Poses of Classical and Photoswitchable Psychedelics Interacting with 5-HT2AR (“Our simulations clarify the nature of intermolecular drug/protein interactions, which can help to develop new classes of classical and photoswitchable psychedelics.“)
• Validated Portable Device for the Qualitative and Quantitative Electrochemical Detection of MDMA Ready for On-Site Use (detection)
• In silico analysis of biased signaling in the serotonin 2A receptor (in cells, “Our results show that the β-arrestin-biased partial agonist produces significant changes at the intracellular receptor-Gq protein interface residue interactions that are unfavorable for the binding. Also, there is a significant difference in the interactions of IHCH-7086 at the orthosteric binding site. Lastly, our network analysis shows differences in communications between residues among the studied receptor-ligand complexes.“)
• Neurotoxic Effects of Hallucinogenic Drugs 25H-NBOMe and 25H-NBOH in Organotypic Hippocampal Cultures (in cells, “25H-NBOMe and 25H-NBOH disrupt the balance between neurogenesis and neuronal death in the hippocampus and, although chemically similar, have distinct neurotoxicity mechanisms.“)
• Stability studies of ALD-52 and its homologue 1P-LSD (stability of LSD and analogue)
• Introducing Conformational Restraints on 25CN-NBOH: A Selective 5-HT2A Receptor Agonist
• Lectotypification and neotypification of names related to Banisteriopsis caapi (Malpighiaceae): a contribution to understanding of Ayahuasca (species of the principal ingredient of ayahuasca)
• Incilius alvarius Cell-Based Synthesis of 5-Methoxy-N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (“Cell-based biosynthesis of I. alvarius parotoid gland secretions is a potentially cruelty-free and sustainable source of naturally derived 5-MeO-DMT for research and drug development.“)
• Application of Quantum–Chemical Methods in the Forensic Prediction of Psychedelic Drugs’ Spectra (IR, NMR, UV–VIS, and MS): A Case Study of LSD and Its Analogs
• Off-target activity of NBOMes and NBOMe analogs at the µ opioid receptor

Perspectives/Opinions

• Increased Demand for Ketamine Infusions and Associated Complexities (editorial, “To advance the science and protect patient safety, the scientific community must collect and publish meaningful data to better elucidate optimal dosages, infusion rates, clinical settings, adjuvant therapeutics, expected side effects, relative contraindications, and further prospective responsive conditions amenable to treatment.“)
• Psychedelics and the Military: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been (editorial, “ The impetus for this research is not international espionage but to find better treatments for chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, severe substance use disorders, and treatment-resistant depression that contribute to unquantifiable mental pain, psychosocial dysfunction, and an epidemic of suicide among military service members and veterans.”)
• Psychedelic therapy as reality transformation: A phenomenological approach (perspective, “ I approach psychedelic therapy for depression through the lens of phenomenological psychiatry to take these themes seriously–a task which passes by considering experience as embodied, and therefore embedded. Starting off from an analysis of depression as a bodily detunement (disconnection), I argue that, through a process of “immersive reflection”, psychedelic therapy transforms not only the self, but patients’ sense of reality.“)
• Translational Challenges in Psychedelic Medicine (commentary)
• Navigating intensive altered states of consciousness: How can the set and setting key parameters promote the science of human birth? (hypothesis article)
• Microbiota-derived psychedelics: Lessons from COVID-19 (editorial)
• Consommation récréative du LSD, son découvreur était contre (editorial, French)
• Premise, promise and challenges of MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD (editorial)
• The use of psychedelics in psychiatric treatment – evolutionary perspectives (letter to the editor)
• Unblinding and demand characteristics in the treatment of depression (perspective, from COMPASS-associated researchers, “Psychedelic experience for the treatment of depression must be unblinding, but the effect results directly from serotonergic receptor activation and changes in brain connectivity. Where such effects are part of a novel mechanism of action, a strong dose response relationship would be expected, irrespective of unblinding. We highlight the importance of exploring blinding as a mechanism, confirming dose-related outcomes, and dissociating unblinding effects from efficacy. Unblinding does not necessarily invalidate the subjective experience of sustained recovery from depression.“)
• Psychotherapy and psychedelic drugs (correspondence, questions the need to test against psychotherapy)
  • And authors’ reply (which rebukes all points made)
• The use of psychedelics in psychiatric treatment – evolutionary perspectives (perspective)
• Possible psychedelic therapeutic mechanism (perspective)
• Psychedelic-Assisted Neuroplasticity for the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders (editorial)
• Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression (commentaries/replies)
• The Promise and Perils of Psychedelics (NEJM podcast)
• Premise, promise and challenges of MDMA assisted therapy for PTSD (editorial)
• Psychedelic medicine and the clinical application of hallucinogens (editorial)
• Psilocybin services in Oregon: a call for awareness among clinical toxicologists (commentary, “This commentary summarizes the final rules for psilocybin services in Oregon, and provides perspectives from a clinical toxicologist on some of the issues that may arise.“)

Reviews

• Guidelines’ recommendations for the treatment-resistant depression: A systematic review of their quality (guidelines for depression treatment, covers ketamine)
• Indole Alkaloids from Psychoactive Mushrooms: Chemical and Pharmacological Potential as Psychotherapeutic Agents (review)
• Plant Medicine Healing! Discovering the Roots of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Mental Health (review)
• On the Edges: The Ethics of Human Studies with Psychedelic Substances (review)
• Differentially regulated targets in the fast-acting antidepressant effect of (R)-ketamine: A systems biology approach (review)
• Ayahuasca and personality. A systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies with long-term participants (review)
• Combining Ketamine and Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (review, positive about the combination of ketamine with therapy)
• Serotonergic psychedelics for depression: What do we know about neurobiological mechanisms of action? (review)
• Arketamine for cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders (review)
• Experiences of psilocybin treatment for clinical conditions: A qualitative meta-synthesis (review)
• Neuroimaging-Derived Biomarkers of the Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine (review)
• Esketamine for treatment‑resistant depression: A review of clinical evidence (review)
• Ayahuasca – a review of historical, pharmacological, and therapeutic aspects (review)
• The Efficacy of Psilocybin in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis (review & meta-analysis)
• Drug stability in forensic toxicology (review, also covers the stability of psychedelics)
• Therapeutic effect of psilocybin in addiction: A systematic review (review)
• Serotonergic psychedelics for depression: What do we know about neurobiological mechanisms of action? (review)
• Are psychedelics the answer to chronic pain: A review of current literature (review, chronic pain)
• Ketamine as a therapeutic agent in major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder: Potential medicinal and deleterious effects (review)
• The current state of ayahuasca research in animal models: A systematic review (review, in rodents. “Studies using animal models indicate ayahuasca is toxicologically safe in ceremonial-comparable doses and indicates a therapeutic potential for depression and substance use disorder while not supporting an anxiolytic effect.“)

Other

• Beyond Phytochemistry (academic book chapter)
• Willingness to participate in entheogen use research in naturalistic settings (n=84, those who had taken psychedelics were willing to participate in psychedelic research (95.5% supported, 87% would participate))
• Ketamine infusions and bladder complications (n=116, ketamine infusions related to operations in hospital, small chance of bladder complications because of ketamine use)
• Methamphetamine-induced widespread oral ulcerations (n=1, case study, ulcers after MDMA use – but also calls MDMA Meth in the title…)
• Prevalence of psychoactive substance use by adolescents in public schools in a municipality in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil (n=1460, age 10-19, “The prevalence of psychoactive substance use in the last month was 51% for analgesics; 48.8% for alcohol; 37.3% for tobacco; 30.8% for tranquilizers; 23.1% for marijuana; 22.6% for anabolic steroids; 21.6% for ecstasy; 15.3% for amphetamines/stimulants; 13.4% for phencyclidine; 12.9% for cocaine/crack; 12.6% for inhalants/solvents; 11.5% for opiates; 11.4% for hallucinogens; and 16.2% for other unclassified drugs.“)
• Prevalence and Psychiatric Correlates of Illicit Substance Use in UK Undergraduate Students
• Typology of Users of Psychedelics and Alike Psychoactive Substances in Czechia: Results of the National Online Survey (n=890, survey, “ Our findings highlight several patterns typical for psychedelics and alike psychoactive substances use in Czechia in each of the groups and the need for targeted drug prevention services, the raise of public awareness regarding this topic, and a possible reevaluation of the legal status of some substances.“)
• Interest in receiving psychedelic-assisted therapy among marginalized women: Implications and findings from a community-based study in Canada (n=486, 43% interested in PAT, Canada)
• Transpersonal Intersubjectivity in Ibogaine Experiences: Three cases (n=3, case series)
• Ketamine and Spiritual Benefit: An Online Survey of Users (n=139, survey, thesis)
• Dark Loops: Contagion effects, consistency and chemosocial matrices in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy trials (pre-print, perspective/sociological view on PAT/hype)
• Reduced emergent character of neural dynamics in patients with a disrupted connectome (related to psychedelics but investigates lack of consciousness from brain injury)
• A novel ego dissolution scale: A construct validation study (new ego dissolution scale)
• A survey of Australian psychiatrists’ and psychiatry trainees’ knowledge of and attitudes towards psychedelics in the treatment of psychiatric disorders (survey, “Respondents reported awareness of the evidence demonstrating the benefits of psychedelics for most disorders; however most respondents, particularly females, perceived psychedelics as risky. Most considered themselves open-minded and believed psychedelics deserved further research.“)
• Modelling Phenomenological Differences in Aetiologically Distinct Visual Hallucinations Using Deep Neural Networks (relevant for HPPD/psychedelics effects on the visual system)
• Disruption to Australian heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy markets with the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions (drug supply, includes ecstasy)
• Association of the delayed changes in glutamate levels and functional connectivity with the immediate network effects of S-ketamine (n=35, glutamate changes after esketamine use)
• Psychedelic-Assisted Neuroplasticity for the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders (patent highlight)
• Social determinants and distance from certified treatment centers are associated with initiation of esketamine nasal spray among patients with challenging-to-treat major depressive disorder (who goes to and completes esketamine treatment, “Lower likelihood of ESK initiation was associated with living > 7.2 miles from a treatment center (OR: 0.75), living in rural areas (OR: 0.64), and percent non-Hispanic African American (OR: 0.58) and Hispanic (OR: 0.40)“)
• A Question of Dose and Context: LSD, Peyote and Chemical Interactions, Human Variation, and Interpretation (book chapter)
• Alkaloids from Fungi (academic book chapter)
• This is Your Brain on Death: A Comparative Analysis of a Near-death Experience and Subsequent 5-Methoxy-DMT Experience
• Smokable ‘Vine of the Dead’: Two Case Studies of Experiencers of Both Changa and Near-death Experiences
• An Encounter with Death: A Content Analysis of the DMT Experience from a Naturalistic Study and Comparison with the Near-death Experience
• Intravenous ketamine for severe alcohol use disorder at Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital, Kenya: a case report (case report, n=1, off-label use of ketamine for AUD)
• The parable of the Therapeutic Goods Administration approval of esketamine (Spravato) in Australia (policy, approval of esketamine (Spravato) in Australia)
• A Thesis on LSD Research in the Laboratory and the Street: Sensory Deprivation, Surveys and the Mogar Laboratory, Creating Cures (academic book chapter)
• Psychotropic Acacia (academic book chapter)
• Religious Freedom and the Global Regulation of Ayahuasca (academic book chapter)
• Mood Disorders and Creativity (academic book chapter, covers psychedelics)
• κ-Opioid Receptor Plasma Levels Are Associated With Sex and Diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder But Not Response to Ketamine (n=39, “In humans, diagnosis of MDD and biological sex are involved with changes in components of the KOR/dynorphin pathway. Neither KOR nor dynorphin levels consistently moderated ketamine’s therapeutic effects or adverse effects, nor were levels altered after ketamine infusion.“)
• Criticality supports cross-frequency cortical-thalamic information transfer during conscious states (about consciousness, uses 5-MeO-DMT as an example)
• Liminal spaces, seasonal faces: Challenging drug market assumptions via an exploration of naturally occurring magic mushroom markets in rural Kent (magic mushroom ‘drug market’ in Kent, “Magic mushroom picking was found to be a seasonal role, with participants often acting in a sociable, cooperative manner. Findings thus present a challenge to existing drug market archetypes.”)
• Ketamine decreased opiate use in US military combat operations from 2010 to 2019 (ketamine replacing opioids in combat situations)
• Striatal iron deposition in recreational 3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) users (safety of MDMA use, correlational)
• Role of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors in ketamine’s antidepressant actions
• National Institutes of health psilocybin research speaker series: State of the science, regulatory and policy landscape, research gaps, and opportunities